Cavaliers adjust to new coach, return of Hatch

There are a lot of uncertainties surrounding the Canterbury boys basketball program, but one thing that isn't is the experience of its head coach.

After 14 years at the helm of the Cavaliers' girls program, Scott Kreiger took the boys job last June. He enters the second weekend of the season with a team that once again appears to be loaded with enough talent to make a deep Class A tournament run.

Now to the questions.

Perhaps the biggest one is Austin Hatch, the junior who is still recovering physically and otherwise from a plane crash in June 2011 that seriously injured him and killed his father and stepmother. After being granted another year of eligibility by the IHSAA, Hatch has been taking it slow, taking part in some practice drills, but he is not ready to return to the basketball court again.

It appears to be a day-to-day thing with Hatch, who would just be the icing on the cake on a roster that has a lot of balance.

Senior swingman Trent VanHorn is one of the most proven scorers in the area, regardless of class. At 6-foot-4, he is a challenge for bigger, slower players inside and smaller, faster players on the perimeter.

Chase Moyle is a senior guard who is in a position of leadership for a team that has plenty of talent on the floor, albeit without a lot of proven scoring outside of VanHorn.

At 6-6, sophomore center Andrew Kus could be that player who gives Canterbury another post presence that can consistently put the ball in the basket.

Kreiger is a selfless coach, so if labeled with the title “The Architect of Canterbury Girls Basketball,” he would likely cringe. But there is no discounting the fact that Krieger was the coach for all of the Cavaliers' postseason success, which includes 12 sectional titles, six regionals, four semistates and four state championships.

Many are hoping he can do the same thing with the boys program.

Much of the work was already laid by former coach Dan Kline, who won two sectionals and led Canterbury to its first boys semistate appearance in school history a season ago.

The pieces are there for Kreiger and the Cavaliers, Hatch's return to the court would make it that much sweeter.